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The Road to the Worst Credit Score Ever
Debt Management by Amy Fontinelle ADVERTISEMENT
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Credit Reports Wednesday, September 29, 2010

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Your credit score can range from 300 to 850 — the higher, the better. Most articles about
Family & Home credit scores focus on how you can improve your score to get approved for loans and get
the best possible interest rates from lenders, but here, we're going to take the opposite
Insurance approach and tell you how to achieve the worst credit score ever.
Loans [Click here to check current credit card offers, including rates and terms.]
Real Estate If any of these behaviors apply to you, watch out — you're in the process of doing some
Retirement
serious damage to your financial reputation.

Taxes 1. Don't Pay Your Bills

The most important part of your credit score is your repayment history, so if you want to
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have terrible credit, don't pay your bills.
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Did you get a bill in the mail from your credit card See today's average rates across the country.
Experts company today? Don't open it. Leave it in the More from Investopedia.com: Mortgage Home Equity Savings Auto Credit Cards
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30 Year Fixed
How-to Guides repayment history on your credit report will look
terrible, showing that you have bills you haven't 15 Year Fixed 3.78% 3.82%
• 8 Slipups That Won't Hurt
paid for 90-plus days. Eventually, your account Your Credit Score 1 Year ARM 3.18% 3.66%
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Mutual Funds 30 Year Fixed Jumbo 5.31% 5.33%
further. • Obtaining Credit in a Bad
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Better yet, throw your unopened credit card bill in
Currency the trash. That way, a thief might be able to 3/1 ARM 3.39% 3.36%
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your identity, leaving you with a gigantic financial mess to clean up and completely
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While you're at it, don't open your monthly mortgage statement, either. Keep doing this
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Bankruptcies and foreclosures are a great way to ruin your credit not just in the short
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2. Charge It!
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Ten percent of your credit score is based on how many new accounts you have applied
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and see how many credit card applications you can fill out in a single day? Best of all, if
you get approved, you'll have new tools to dig yourself into an even deeper financial hole.
4. Be a One-Trick Pony
Your credit score tends to be higher if you use a mix of different types of credit, such as
credit cards, store accounts, an auto loan and a mortgage. Of course, to get approved for
a mix of credit in the first place, you'd have to be responsible with your money. If you
want to look bad, don't mix it up - stick with credit cards. These are one of the easiest
types of credit to get.

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[See Yes, You CAN Get Out of Debt]

5. Assume that it's Hopeless

Once you've thoroughly destroyed your credit, there's no sense in hoping that things
could get better one day. After all, a bankruptcy can stay on your credit score for up to 10
years. So don't visit a nonprofit credit counseling service for help. Don't work out a budget
to help you manage your money better. Don't cut up your credit cards or freeze them in
blocks of ice. And don't take any baby steps toward paying off your debts. Just resign
yourself to a life on the streets - it will be harder for your creditors to track you down if you
don't have a job, an address or a phone number. Don't believe anyone who tells you that
you can turn your situation around in a year or two if you're motivated enough.
What Won't Affect Your Score

While you're hard at work destroying your credit and ensuring that your life will one day
revolve completely around clawing your way out of debt, please keep in mind that there
are a few destructive behaviors that won't have any impact on your credit score.

Unless you do it so often that your bank sends your account to collections, overdrawing
your checking account won't have any effect on your credit score (though it will be very
expensive). Getting divorced, in and of itself, will not affect your credit score, so don't
think that stepping out on your spouse will get you any closer to a 300. Losing your job
won't directly impact your score, either, nor will receiving unemployment checks or
signing up for food stamps.
Credit bureaus don't care if you're on public assistance, and they don't care if you have a
job — they're only interested in whether and when you pay your bills, not how you derive
the means to pay for them. But hey — why stop at just destroying your credit when you
could destroy your entire life?
The Bottom Line

Please don't follow the tongue-in-cheek tips in this article - we really don't want to see
you ruin your finances, your relationships or your sanity.
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http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/110861/the-road-to-the-worst-credit-sc... 9/29/2010